20:24
Lewis Hamilton is now 3.5 seconds behind his teammate, and has just been on the radio complaining that he is struggling to turn his Ferrari in the slow speed corners
Kimi Antonelli
LIVE
F1 US Grand Prix LIVE: Reaction after Kimi Antonelli wins at COTA
Live updates from the 2026 F1 United States Grand Prix at COTA
KEY MOMENTS
- US GP begins at 8pm GMT
- Kimi Antonelli starts on pole
- Kimi Antonelli can win the championship today
The 2026 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix takes place today (Sunday, 25 October) at the Circuit of the Americas, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli has his first chance to win the title.
The Mercedes driver, in just his second year in F1, has a chance to make history today at the US Grand Prix as he faces his first match point in the championship battle.
Starting from pole position, Kimi Antonelli can win the world championship today if he wins the race, team-mate George Russell is ninth and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton is fifth.
If Antonelli doesn't win the race, the title will roll on to the Mexico City Grand Prix.
The Italian will face stiff opposition from the Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, who qualified second and third.
Red Bull has won the last two grands prix with Verstappen.
Ferrari looked like being a big victory threat in its upgraded car, but struggled to fourth and fifth in qualifying with Leclerc and Hamilton.
2026 US GP schedule
Race - 8pm GMT
20:22
Gabriel Bortoleto is now under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage...
20:21
Kimi Antonelli has now extended his lead to 2.9 seconds
20:18
George Russell penalty
George Russell has been given a five-second time penalty for gaining an advantage after leaving the track
20:16
Lando Norris has passed Oscar Piastri for seventh place
20:15
After six laps, Kimi Antonelli still holds over a 2-second lead, but due to Lewis Hamilton and George Russell's positions, he would not be crowned champion
20:12
George Russell is under investigation after leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 13...
20:09
Now the early fighting has ended, Kimi Antonelli leads the way from Max Verstappen, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth, and Isack Hadjar rounds out the top five
20:07
VSC
The Virtual Safety Car was very briefly deployed, but we are back under racing conditions
20:06
Max Verstappen is back in second place, but will have a lot of work to do to catch up to Antonelli
20:05
There was contact on the opening lap between the Ferraris, and Antonelli is now over 2 seconds ahead of the pack
20:04
Kimi Antonelli leads in the early stages of the Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc has moved into second place, with Max Verstappen back in third
20:04
Lights out!
The 2026 US Grand Prix is underway!
20:02
Tyre Choices
Here are the tyre choices:
Kimi Antonelli - Medium
Max Verstappen - Soft
Isack Hadjar - Soft
Charles Leclerc - Soft
Lewis Hamilton - Soft
George Russell - Medium
Oscar Piastri - Medium
Lando Norris - Medium
Liam Lawson - Soft
Pierre Gasly - Soft
Nico Hulkenberg - Soft
Fernando Alonso - Soft
Ollie Bearman - Soft
Arvid Lindblad - Soft
Esteban Ocon - Soft
Carlos Sainz - Soft
Alex Albon - Soft
Sergio Perez - Soft
Valtteri Bottas - Hard
Franco Colapinto - Hard
Gabriel Bortoleto - Soft
Lance Stroll - Medium [Pit Lane Start]
20:01
Formation Lap Underway
The drivers are off on their formation lap ahead of the start of the Grand Prix
19:56
5 Minutes to go
We are five minutes away from the start of the US Grand Prix, in which Kimi Antonelli could win the 2026 F1 title...
19:50
10 Minute countdown
The US Grand Prix will get underway in 10 minutes, with the Championship leader starting from pole position, with Max Verstappen alongside him...
19:46
Isack Hadjar calls his weekend a 'disaster'
Despite qualifying in third place, Isack Hadjar has labelled his weekend in COTA as a 'disaster'
Why Isack Hadjar’s COTA F1 weekend has been “a disaster”
Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing, 2026 US GP
© XPB Images
19:41
Track Limits will almost definitely play a part in the race today after it impacted the results in qualifying on Saturday...
19:35
A lot of mechanics were gathered around the back of Fernando Alonso's car on the grid after his engine appeared to be on fire after qualifying...
19:34
Max Verstappen vs the COTA track conditions
Max Verstappen and the bosses at COTA have been engaged in back-and-forth over the circuit conditions throughout this weekend...
Max Verstappen fires back at COTA boss: ‘He can drive my car, wouldn’t be able to walk’
Max Verstappen was not impressed with COTA boss Bobby Epstein's comments
19:31
With Kimi Antonelli starting from pole position, the Italian will have Max Verstappen alongside him on the grid. Will Verstappen try to take advantage of Antonelli's title nerves and overtake him at Turn 1?
19:20
Kimi Antonelli can win the title today
Will Kimi Antonelli win the 2026 F1 title today?
How Kimi Antonelli can become F1 world champion at today's US GP
Kimi Antonelli has won his maiden F1 world championship
19:10
United States Grand Prix Starting Grid
Here is how the F1 grid looks for the United States Grand Prix
F1 2026 US Grand Prix: Full starting grid after multiple penalties
Franco Colapinto is among several drivers taking penalties
19:02
United States Grand Prix build-up
Welcome to our live coverage of the United States Grand Prix from the Circuit of the Americas, and we are one hour away from the start of the race.